One of Margaret Thatcher's former aides has criticised Meryl Streep for failing to mention the ex-Prime Minister in her Oscars acceptance speech.

The Hollywood icon walked away with her third Academy Award after winning the Best Actress prize at Sunday's ceremony for her portrayal of the first female leader in The Iron Lady.

Streep thanked her husband, Don, and her Hollywood pals, but did not remember Thatcher in her emotional speech, and Lord Norman Tebbit, who served with Thatcher in government for six years, has been left fuming by the exclusion.

He tells The Sun: "I'm not at all surprised she didn't mention her.

"The film was about Meryl Streep, not Lady Thatcher. If Margaret Thatcher had been like the woman portrayed by Meryl Streep, she wouldn't have lasted six months as Prime Minister."

Meanwhile, Thatcher's former press spokesperson Sir Bernard Ingham also slammed the movie for focusing on her deteriorating health and battle with dementia.

He adds: "I don't propose to see somebody making money out of somebody's age. I think it demonstrates poor taste."